Dehradun, Oct 15 (PTI) The number of pilgrims coming to Uttarakhand on the Chardham Yatra this season crossed the 41 lakh mark on Tuesday.
A total of 41,13081 pilgrims have visited the Chardham temples, which include Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri, this year so far, the Chardham Yatra Management and Control Organisation said.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said seeing the rise in devotees coming for the yatra, the government has decided to expand the travel arrangements further the next year.
According to official figures, 23,649 pilgrims visited the famed Himalayan temples on Monday while the number rose to 26,726 on Tuesday.
The Chardham Yatra has entered its last phase with the portals of Kedarnath and Yamunotri closing on November 3, Gangotri on November 2 and Badrinath on November 17.
After the monsoon slowdown, the yatra had picked up pace early this month with more than 20,000 pilgrims visiting the temples in a day on an average.
The pilgrimage slows down almost every year in the rainy season when landslides frequently block the roads to the temples.
Though a drop in the arrival of pilgrims during the rainy season is normal, the yatra to Kedarnath through the trek route had to be completely suspended for nearly a month this year due to largescale damage to it following heavy rain on July 31 causing a number of landslides.
However, the route was finally restored despite the weather hampering the efforts and pilgrims started arriving again in large numbers.
Even the disaster in Kedarghati failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the pilgrims, officials here said.
“Smooth, safe and well-organised Chardham Yatra has been the top priority of the Uttarakhand government. Every year lakhs of devotees from the country and abroad come on Chardham Yatra. Our government is committed to providing a safe environment to the pilgrims,” Chief Minister Dhami said.
“Seeing the speed with which the number of devotees is increasing, we will have to expand the travel arrangements further. The exercise for this has already started. This time the arrangements were affected due to the Kedarghati disaster, but the government faced this difficult challenge firmly and restored the Kedar Yatra,” he said.
The Chardham Yatra to the four temples commenced on different days in May. PTI ALM RPA
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